The Kinship Festival

ABOUT

The Kinship Festival

The Kinship Festival is an annual one day celebration of Aboriginal culture, community and connection that has been held every year since 2015.
What began as a small celebration during National Families Week has grown into one of the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural gatherings in the Northern Rivers region. Through floods, fires and COVID, Kinship Festival has continued because of the strong belief that culture, family and connection are essential to the wellbeing of our communities.

Across the Bundjalung Nation there are many tribal groups connected through kinship systems, shared responsibilities and ongoing cultural relationships. Kinship Festival creates an opportunity for these relationships to be strengthened through shared cultural practice, learning and celebration. It provides a space where people can come together to reconnect with Country, culture, family and community.

The Kinship Festival is a free grassroots event built on the values of respect, healing, equality, sharing and meaningful participation. The sharing of food, resources, stories and cultural knowledge has always been an important part of Aboriginal culture and remains central to the spirit of Kinship Festival today.
Keeping the festival free ensures that everyone in the community can participate regardless of circumstance.

The festival celebrates both traditional and contemporary expressions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and brings together Elders, children, young people, families, artists, dancers, cultural practitioners, organisations and the wider community in a culturally safe and welcoming environment.

Throughout the day people experience Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, Corroboree, dance, music, Elders storytelling, Aboriginal language activities, weaving, cultural workshops, Indigenous artisan markets, earth and sand art, children’s art spaces, community activities and a shared free community meal for all who attend.

Kinship Festival is much more than a one day event. It creates opportunities for cultural revitalisation, intergenerational learning, leadership development and community wellbeing.
It strengthens relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, creates pathways for connection with support services and provides opportunities for local artists and cultural practitioners to share their knowledge, stories and gifts.

The festival also creates spaces where children and families experience culture through participation rather than observation. Through dance, storytelling, art and ceremony people are invited to learn, connect and become part of a shared experience rather than simply watching from the sidelines.

The Kinship Festival is delivered through the dedication of volunteers, community partnerships and donations and currently does not receive major event funding or recurrent funding.